CPython Internals

Get your guided tour through the Python 3.9 interpreter: Unlock the inner workings of the Python language, compile the Python interpreter from source code, and participate in the development of CPython.

Are there certain parts of Python that just seem like magic? This book explains the concepts, ideas, and technicalities of the Python interpreter in an approachable and hands-on fashion. Once you see how Python works at the interpreter level, you can optimize your applications and fully leverage the power of Python. By the End of the Book You’ll Be Able To: Read and navigate the CPython 3.9 interpreter source code. You’ll deeply comprehend and appreciate the inner workings of concepts like lists, dictionaries, and generators. Make changes to the Python syntax and compile your own version of CPython, from scratch. You’ll customize the Python core data types with new functionality and run CPython’s automated test suite. Master Python’s memory management capabilities and scale your Python code with parallelism and concurrency. Debug C and Python code like a true professional. Profile and benchmark the performance of your Python code and the runtime. Participate in the development of CPython and know how to contribute to future versions of the Python interpreter and standard library. How great would it feel to give back to the community as a “Python Core Developer?” With this book you’ll cover the critical concepts behind the internals of CPython and how they work with visual explanations as you go along. Each page in the book has been carefully laid out with beautiful typography, syntax highlighting for code examples.